Review Status

On September 1, 2016, we approved the schematic design phase for Yesler Terrace Pocket Park, with a condition and recommendations.

Project Description

In 2006, Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) began planning for the redevelopment of Yesler Terrace. The new 31-acre master planned community will include replacement low-income housing, market-rate housing, two community centers, 2.5 acres of open space, and other neighborhood improvements. More than 12,000 people will live at Yesler Terrace when fully built out.

As part of the redevelopment, SHA petitioned to vacate (permanently close) several streets. In the vacation petition, SHA proposed several public benefits, including three pocket parks. The pocket parks are part of the Green Loop, a connected network of public open spaces included in the redevelopment master plan.

From 2009 to 2011, we reviewed the petition to vacate streets in Yesler Terrace. At that time, SHA identified the locations of the pocket parks but not their precise configuration, programming, and design. Now that the first park is moving forward, we are reviewing the design of this public benefit.

The street vacation conditions outline key features of the pocket parks: each must be 12,000 square feet, have 70 linear feet of frontage on a public street, and accommodate both active and passive uses. Design elements will vary in each of the three pocket parks in order to complement adjacent uses.